What we do

NERC - the Natural Environment Research Council - is the UK's leading public funder of environmental science. We invest £330 million each year in cutting-edge research, postgraduate training and innovation in universities and research centres.

Our scientists study and monitor the physical, chemical and biological processes on which our planet and life itself depends - from pole to pole, from the deep Earth and oceans to the atmosphere and space.

NERC also funds national capability - the large research infrastructure, services, facilities and data centres that enable the research and make its results available. This includes research stations around the globe, a fleet of ships and aircraft, and satellite technology to monitor gradual environmental change on a global scale.

We also provide what are known as national good services, for example advice to government when there is a national or international environmental emergency such as a flood or earthquake.

NERC works in partnership with business, government, civil society, the public and the wider research community to shape the environmental research and innovation agenda. Our science provides knowledge, skills and technology that deliver sustainable economic growth and public wellbeing.